The N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) is incorporating the COVID-19 Vaccine Management System into the North Carolina Immunization Registry, the state’s existing immunization information system used to manage and report all other vaccines.
To meet mass vaccination demands during the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services leveraged NC HIEA’s infrastructure and services to enable direct reporting from providers' electronic health records to the COVID-19 Vaccine Management System. This allowed tracking of vaccine supply and administration in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements.
As the COVID-19 vaccine is becoming part of routine care, the state has made great strides in incorporating COVID-19 vaccine administration reporting into the North Carolina Immunization Registry. By July 1, all providers should be able to manage COVID-19 vaccines in the registry, as they do for all other vaccines.
This transition will assist in preparing for COVID-19 vaccine commercialization, minimize system disruption during expected periods of higher vaccine demand in the fall and streamline documentation procedures across all routine immunizations.